DATE:
January 14, 2026
06
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
NOTICED PUBLIC HEARING:
Title
RESOLUTION TO REVISE THE TRANSPORTATION STUDY GUIDE FOR VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED TO REMOVE THE INFILL AREA AND SMALL PROJECT SCREENING CRITERIA AND CEQA EXEMPTIONS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
The proposed action today revises the County's 2022 Transportation Study Guide (TSG) related to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) to remove the thresholds for small project exemptions and infill areas to comply with recent court directives.
In 2013, the State of California passed Senate Bill 743 (SB 743), which changed how jurisdictions, including the County of San Diego (County), analyze transportation impacts from privately and publicly initiated projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). SB 743 identified Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the standard to evaluate a project's transportation-related environmental impacts. VMT replaces motorist delay and associated level of service (LOS) as the metric for traffic impact analysis under CEQA. VMT measures both the volume of daily vehicle trips generated, and the average distance people drive to and from destinations by specific types of land uses. The intent behind SB 743 was to balance the needs of congestion management (traffic) with statewide goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, encourage infill development, and improve public health through more active transportation such as walking and biking.
On September 28, 2022 (6), the Board of Supervisors (Board) adopted the County's Transportation Study Guide (TSG). This 2022 TSG established a threshold for analyzing transportation impacts in the unincorporated area under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) using vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a metric, as required by State law. The County's 2022 TSG was challenged in court shortly after adoption, and as a result, the County has been ordered to revise two of its VMT thresholds.
In Novembe...
Click here for full text